Hay gatherer and chopper



Feb. 7, 1950 R. R. RANEY HAY GAT'r-IERER AND CHOPPER 2 Shee ts-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5, 1946 iwexzzor Raise/Z1? fikzzzg PM Feb. 7, 1950 R. R. RANEY I an cmmm AND CHOPPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 5, 1946 jzveizzirf 215563)? 2 PWo W- Patented Feb. 7, 1950 HAY GATHERER AND enorran Russell R. Raney, La Grange, 111., assignor to International Harvester Company,- a corporation of New Jersey Application December 5, 1946, Serial No. 714,195

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved field hay chopper and has for one of its principal objects the provision of means for chopping standing forage crops and grain and then conveying them to a wagon or other trailing vehicle or receptacle.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a means for feeding standing hay or other grain into a chopping mechanism which will cut the hay in small increments while the stalk is still held in the ground by its roots. I

Another important object of this invention is to provide a hay chopper or harvesting machine which eliminates the usual reciprocating cutter bar and provides in lieu thereof a rotary chopper.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hay chopper with a plurality of conveying and,

elevating elements all adapted to operate on parallel shafts and rotating in the same direction, thus rendering the drive for all of the mechanism in the hay chopper simple.

Another and still further object of this invention is the provision of a hay chopper easy and economical to manufacture.

Other and further important objects of this invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the hay chopper of this invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view partially in section of the hay chopper as shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figure 4 shows a front sectional detail of the side supporting wheel.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral Ill indicates generally a vehicle axle having supporting wheels II and i2 mounted at the ends thereof and constituting a. wheeled truck. A draft or hitch frame I3 is attached to the wheel truck for the purpose of pulling the vehicle. This frame |3 includes anguiarly diverging side members i4 and I5 which are attached preferably by welding to the axle It]. The weld attachment for the member H is shown at IS in Figure 1. The remainder of the draft frame l3 consists of a forwardly extending c'levis l1 adapted to be attached to a tractor draw-bar or the like by means of a pin being dropped through vertically aligned holes |8 in the clevis and draw-bar respectively. A gusset plate i9 is welded at 20 to the side member l4 and is members I4 and I5 by bolts or the like 23 and 24 respectively. This gear box 22 is adapted to reattached to the diverging side member I! by ceive its power or drive from the power takeoff shaft of a tractor (not shown). Driving linkage is extended rearwardly from the tractor power take-off to a universal joint shown at 25 which directly drives a shaft 26 extending into the gear casing 22. The interior of the gear casing preferabiy consists of a pair of bevelled gears, not shown, which transmit the rotary drive of the shaft 26 extending in a longitudinal direction to a transversely extending shaft 21 extending from the side of the gear box 22. This shaft 21 carries a V-belt pulley 28 and a sprocket 29 adjacent the draft frame l3 and a second sprocket 39 on the far end thereof adjacent the wheel l2. It will be shown subsequently that the drive for all of the elements of this hay chopper are taken from these three spaced driven members, the V-belt pulley 28, and the sprockets 29 and 30.

A tubular member 3|, commonly known as a torque tube, is carried above and somewhat forwardly of the axle ill by means of arms 32 and 33. These arms are rigidly attached to the axle and to the torque tube, and as best shown in Figure 1 these attachments are shown as welds 34, 35, and 36. The entire hay chopper of this invention is suspended from this elevated torque tube 3|.

Side sheet members 31 and 38 are attached to the torque tube 3| through the medium of 9. depending channel member 39 which is welded to the torque tube 3| at 40 and depends downwardly therefrom as shown in Figure 2. Bolts 4| pass through the channel member 39 and the side sheet 31 thereby holding the two memhers together. The support for the side sheet 38 is similar to the support for the side 31 and no details have been shown for this duplication of structure. A conveyor 42 extends upwardly and forwardly of the hay chopper as shown in both Figures 1 and 2. The upper end of the conveyor is carried on a shaft 43 which is supported in brackets 44. The lower end of the conveyor 42 is carried about a shaft 45 which is journally supported in bracket members 46. The spacing of the shafts 43 and 45 is maintained by a pair of rigid arms 41 and 48 at each side of the conveyor by weld attachments to the brackets 44 at 49 and 50 to sleeve members 5| surrounding the shaft 45. A sprocket 52 is fastened to the inner end of the shaft 4! and lies in a plane with the driving sprocket 2| so that a chain 53 extending around and between the sprockets as and 52 will impart rotative drive from the shaft 21 to the shaft 4'. Driving of the shaft 48 in a counter-clockwise direction as shown in Figure 2 causes driving of the conveyor 42 in the direction indicated by the arrow 54. The angular inclination of the upwardly and forwardly extending conveyor 42 is maintained and/or adjusted by means of supporting arms 55 and 56 which extend outwardly from attachment to the side sheets 21 and II respectively at 51 and it. A cross supporting member 59 extends between the upper and lower flights of the conveyor 42 and is positioned beneath the rigid arms 41 and 48. Each end of the cross member 58 is provided with a sleeve at right angles thereto as shown at II and II. The sleeves are adapted to telescopically receive the forwardly extending arms 55 and it respectively. Set screws 42 and I are adapted to adjustably hold the cross member 59 fixed with respect to its position on the forwardly extending supportingarms .55 and it. It is obvious that if the cross member 59 were moved rearwardly toward the hay chopper the conveyor 42 would be inclined at a greater angle, whereas if the cross member 59 were moved forwardly away from the hay chopper the conveyor 42 would be inclined at a lesser angle.

slats 84 are placed at intervals along the surface of the conveyor 42 so that as the conveyor is actuated the downwardly and rearwardly moving slats 64 carry and bend tops of standing grain such as hay downwardly and rearwardly so that the standing grain enters the chopping device of this machine in longitudinal extension and substantially parallel with the ground. As best shown in Figure 3. when the top of a stalk 65 of hay or other grain is discharged from the conveyor 42 it is picked up by a rotary chopping device 66 and carried downwardly and rear-.

wardly by the several knife blades 4'! into or past a cutter or'shear bar 68 at which time the stalk i is cut oil. The length of stalk which is cut depends on the forward speed at which the vehicle is progressing through the field of standing hay or grain. It is the purpose of this hay chopper to cut the hay in small pieces, and this will be accomplished by continuous feeding of the standing stalks of hay in a horizontal and rearward direction by the conveyor 42 into the rotating chopper 6B. The chopper with its knife blades 41 will cut of! that portion of the stalk of hay which has progressed within the path of the rotary chopper 66. The top of the stalk is the first part to be cut off and the remainder of the stalk is cut 03 in small pieces from the top to the bottom. As the stalk is cut it is thrown rearwardly and up the inclined floor 69 into the path of a transversely positioned auger conveyor HI. The rotary chopper I is carried on a shaft 21 which as previously stated is driven from the gear box 22. This rotary chopper rotates in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2 and thus moves similarly to the conveyor 42.

The auger conveyor II is mounted on a shaft ii. A sprocket I2 fastened to the shaft H at the far side ofthe machine is in a plane with the sprocket II mounted on the end of the shaft 21 and thus a chain II joining the two sprockets ii and I2 imparts rotational drive to the auger II. The auger is also adapted to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 2 and therefore the direction of drive is the same as the conveyor 42 and rotary chopper II. This counter-clockwise rotation of the auger ll causes a movement of chopped material from the far side of the machine to the near side as viewed in Figure 1 so that this chopped hay or other grain will be carried across the machine toward and into an elevating blower 14. The blower 14 houses a fan (not shown) which is mounted on a shaft 15 carrying at its outer end a V-belt pulley II. A V-belt ll extends between the V-belt pulleys 28 and II and imparts drive from the former to the latter. The side of the blower I4 is equipped with an opening in alignment with the auger II to receive material from the auger. As the chopped hay is fed into the blower I4, the fan blades pick up the hay and as the fan also rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, the material is carried down and beneath the shaft 15 and up and out the discharge conduit II which has a swivel head 19 for the purpose of directing the discharge of chopped hay.

In operation the hay chopper is drawn through a field of standing hay. the tops of the hay plants or stalks are bent downwardly and rearwardly by theconveyor 42, and as the machine progresses forwardly the tops of the plants enter the field of travel of the rotary chopper l4 and are cut oil by cooperation of the rotary chopper knives I1 and the shear blade I. The rotation of the chopper member acts to draw the chopped hay upwardly and rearwardly into the transversely positioned auger conveyor ll whereupon the chopped hay is fed laterally into the blower I4 and up and out a discharge nozzle 19 which may be directed to a trailing wagon or any other receptacle means. In order that the far side of the machine does not break down standing grain, the outer wheel l2 as best shown in Figure 4 is inclined or toed in. The contact of the wheel l2 with the ground shown at is within the line ll indicating the width of the hay chopper. A shield 42 as best shown in Figure 1 extends from a point adjacent the forward end of the side sheet 20, flares outwardly, and covers the upper portion of the wheel l2 so that the standing hay or grain is guided outside of the wheel i2. The remaining hay is thus saved for chopping on the next round of the machine.

The hay chopper of this invention is substantially entirely suspended from the torque tube 3i and the remaining elements indirectly hang from this tube by attachment to the side sheets 31 and as which are carried by the torque tube iii. The entire machine is of novel construction and is conducive to easy manufacture. The hay chopper eliminates numerous parts and elements which have been considered necessary and essential for a number of years, and the device is therefore quite economical. The drive for the plurality of elements is relatively simple because all elements rotatein the same direction.

Numerous details of construction may be varied'throughout a wide range without departing from the principles described herein, and I therefore" do not propose limiting the patent granted hereonotherwise than as necessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

i. In a field crop chopper comprising a transverse wheel supported axle and a supporting structure carried thereby including a forwardly and downwardly inclined crop gathering means including a floor having its leading edge adapted to closely ride over the ground, a transverse shear bar mounted at said leading edge, a rotary cutter disposed on a transverse axis immediately over the shear bar and having cutting elements cooperating with the shear bar to chop crop material fed across said bar, an upwardly and forwardly inclined conveyer means carried on the supporting structue for engaging standing crops to bend same downwardly and rearwardly toward and deliver same to the shear bar and cutter, and the discharge end of said crop bending conveyer means being positioned in close proximity to the path of rotation of the cutting elements to insure direct transfer of crop material to the cutting 3 elements.

2. In a field crop chopper comprising a transverse wheel supported axle and a supporting structure carried thereby including a forwardly and downwardly inclined crop gathering means including a floor having its leading edge adapted to closely ride over the ground, a transverse shear bar mounted at said leading edge, a rotary cutter disposed on a transverse axis immediately over the shear bar and having cutting elements cooperating with the shear bar to chop crop material fed across said bar, an upwardly and forwardly inclined conveyer means carried on the supporting structure for engaging standing crops 6 to bend same downwardly and rearwardly toward and deliver same to the shear bar and cutter, the discharge end of said crop bending conveyer means being positioned in close proximity to the path of rotation of the cutting elements to insure direct transfer of crop material to the cutting elements, a transverse rotary auger disposed on the supporting structure closely behind the rotary cutter to receive chopped crops therefrom and convey same transversely to a side edge of the crop supporting structure, a chopped crop discharge elevator carried on the supporting structure adjacent said side edge, and a draw frame connected with the axle structure alongside the supporting structure and disposed at the same side thereof with the elevator.

RUSSELL R. RANEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,060,283 Phillips Apr. 29, 1913 1,630,603 Boxrud May 31, 1927 1,977,312 Knapp Oct. 16, 1934 2,008,470 Rall et a1. July 16, 1935 2,253,633 Lindly Aug. 26, 1941 2,269,828 Michel et a1. Jan. 13, 1942 

